Instrument for the implantation of radon seeds



, J'. Mum' Oct. 11, 1932.

INSTRUMENT FOR THE IMPLANTATION OF RADON SEEDS Filed Deo. '7, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 Jew Mum4 JW Wwf J. MUIR Oct. 11, 1932.

l INSTRUMENT FOR THE IMPLANTATION oF RADON SEEDS 2 Sheets-sheet 2 Filed Deo. 7, 1929 Patented Oct. 11, 1932 i i y i l rieur-En stares eeiner-ii:oiifsiengi JOSEPH Mura, E NEW YORK, N. Y., Assienon 'ro THE alentour Einnriarionfoonronn! 1 Tron, or N W Yoan, n. un eoniaonnrion'oii" DELAWARE iNsTRUMENT Eon THE iivrrtanrnrioiier nanou sEEDs l y Y Application filed December 7, 1929. Serial 110.412,352.

The `present invention relates to instru-J trocar, the seed is pushed into. the lumenof ments for the implantation of. radon seeds the'instrument by the springV clip. There is and more particularly removable radon seeds also provi-ded a vvireobturator `or plunger, specifically disclosed in U. S. Patent No. fitting loosely int'o't-he lumen ofthe instru- Y 1,688,245, issued to Joseph Muir. ment, and functioning to xpush the.y seedl 55 rlhe removable seed has become to a large through the lumen of the yinstrument and? extent the customary form in which radium thereafter deposit the seed .in tissue. This emanation is used for the treatment of canthin Obturator or plunger allovvs sufficient cerous growths in the human being. -When clearance between itself and the'vvall of the,

1o the use of the removable seed `was first" in-` instrument proper to Vaccommodatexthe seed 60 augurated, the instruments used for the imthread and prevent amming. .1, plantation thereof in tissue Were unsatisfac- The disadvantages of instruments-of this: tory, and therefore the instrument set forth type are: ;V y v f in U. S. Patent No. 1,655,158, issued to 1. Arelativelylong timeis required to ad- Joseph Muir, Was devised andthe latter has Just the .seed in v-the loading: slot with .thep65 been in current use. Thistype of instruspring c lip. f y i v ment, While capable of advantageous use,'has 2.v It 1s necessary to Withdraw `theftrocan several important defects`- after the tissue has-beenpunctured, thereby Before discussing these defects and. indipresenting the possibility of shifting the posi-` eating hovv the instrument of the present in, tion of the tip or distal end of the implanter, 70 vention overcomes the same, it is desired lto With the result thel the Seeflmay be deposited point out that radon seeds are radio-active, 0T' lmpened 111. the Wrong PM CG- and therefore, the operator performing the 3- The llrltIOdllvCtl'Oe. 0f the W l1`e.0b15111'2lt0v implantation operation must ,be `afforded suflncreases the timeof implantation. 1

gentV protection from the `effects of the It is necessary'to push the seed the entire 75 radon. It is desirable that the time of hanlength, 0f theA QSIUIHGTI While "the needle dling, including the implantation of the seeds, pointu-s in the tissue. I f the Opelf'LOIT dees' be reduced to a minimum, so as to'minimize D O give Summe-Ht efeIllOH 00 .the llllreduethe hazards involved. Further, as the oper- JC1011 Of the Obtule'ol and the peeSage-Of the SOYation of implanting radonseeds` is usually seeclthroughthe. lumen 0f the instrument`, so a rather delicate operation, it is desired te di there V1S. a pOSSlblllty 0f the'seed thread Jan.V minisli the actual number of handling opera- Hung jEhe lIlSUIllmeIl' tions so that the operator may give more of `5. The instrument is customarily made of his attention to, and concentrate his efforts @bless tube having@ needle POlDPmade O f on the accurate placement of the seedsinthe MOlel metal SOldeIed thereto. Since 1t 1S 85 tissue, l necessary/to sterilize theinstrument `before The instrument previously used for the imand .E1-fier USG! '1Q 1S ObVlOUS lthilthe Presence l plantation of removable seeds, such as set 0f three dlsslmla' metal Constituents ferai in U. S. Patent Ne. 1,655,158, te Muir, namely, Monel metal, brass and Solder7 each 1U is essentially a three-piece instrument. rllie Wit-hda deefent @Oecient 0f expansion 'l- 90` y instrument properis provi-ded with a Spying troduces difiiculties. After several applica-Y clip, cooperating `With the loading slot'to 131011? 0 heet, Part 0f the SOldeWOlkS 01113* insure the automatic leading of a raden seed and into the lumenOf-the implanter, and the into the lumen of the implanter during the entire alignment ofthe instrument is d e-jV implantation process, and after vthe tissue has stroyed. i Further, the impurities collect in-95 been punctured. The instrument is also prothe lumen of the instrument, tending to cause vided With a pointed trocar, which completely rusting and clogging which ofcourse makes iills the lumen of the instrument, the point of the instrument valueless for implantation the trocar extendingthrough the piercing end Work.

of the instrument. Upon Withdrawal of the The object of the present invention isthe 109 ment.

f strument.

provision of an instrument which eliminates the defects above pointed out, and simplifies the implantation of the removable seeds.

Broadly, the present invention is directed to an instrument for the implantation in tissue of radon seeds provided with a removal or withdrawal member, comprising a tubular seed-receiving member provided at one of its ends with a needle point vand having intermediate its ends'a lateral seed receiving opening leading intof'the tubular member. The instrument is provided Hwith anV obturator removable from the seed receiving member for discharging seeds therefrom, and the obturator is provided with means to insure aI tight fit with the upper portion of the tubular bore and provides sufficient frictional resistance to prevent the obturator from sliding Valong the tubular bore on inversion o-f the in- More specifically, the obturator is provided with a lower' body portion of a diameter substantiallysmaller than the in-v ternal diameter of the bore ofthe tubular seed-receiving" member ito vallow sufficient room for the removal member of the seed* tubularbore 0n inversionof the instrument.

lThe seed-receiving tube in the preferred form ofthe invention extends throughout the length of the instrument and is made of a single material, therebyv eliminating disturb-` ances in alignment due to the presence of dissimilar materials having varying degreesof lexpansion and contraction.V This affords means broadly for insuring the permanent maintenance of the alignment of the instrumade of a non-corrosive material having the advantages pointed out above. The lateral seed opening is provided with a recess adapt- Aed to hold and4 guide the removal member of `the seed during the step of loading, this recess being preferably, but not necessarily, in

the end wall of the loading slot. y

v In order that'the invention may be clearly 'Y understood, reference is made to the accom- `Elpanying drawings, in which: f

Figure 1 is a plan view of the implantingr instrument with the plunger of' obturator in position; Y Y i Y Figure 2V is a plan view of the plunger or i obturator;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewof the instrument;

Figure 4 is a planview of the implanter,

, showing the ,plunger or obturator entirely withdrawn and a removable radon seed about ymovable radon seed Vin position and the The tubular receiving member is" plunger or obturator being introduced into the bore or lumen of the implanter;

Figure Gis a longitudinal sectional viewshowing the plunger or obturator in place and ready for the implantation operation;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the final position of the instrument, the obturator, and the seed implanted in tissue;

The instrument set forth in thefdrawings isy icomposed of a body portion 1, and a plunger or obturator 2. The body portion com-v.

prises a seed-receiving tube 3 having a bore or lumen 4, the tube '3 being of a material which is non-corrosive, such as an iron-chroreceiving a removable seed 19. The rein-- forcing memberf is vof greater outside diameter at 8 near the loading slot 7 in order to confer rigidity upon the instrument. The brass reinforcing member is soldered to the tube 3 at 9. -The countersunlz'groove o r lateral seedloading opening hasend walls 10 and 11 and side walls 12 and 13, all extending at an acute angle to the axis of the bore.' The end wall 10 is cut away as at 15 'to allowther removable member 20 to rest in the recess 14,

the latter also acting as a guide for the removable member. Y

The plunger or obturatorv 2 comprises a relatively thin lower body portion 16, kan upper enlarged body portion 17, and a head 18.

The lower thin body portion 16V has a length extending from the needle point 5 to the load-y ing slot end wall 10, near thep'roximal end of the instrument, and the upper thick Ybody portion 17 extends the remaining length of the l obturator 2. According to this construction, "4

when the obturator 2 isintroduced into the lumen 4 of the instrument, the loading slot 7 is entirely clear of the Vthiol; obturator up'-.. per body portion 17. The function of the upper thiol: body portion is to provide sutfif cient frictional resistancewhen introduced into the linnen so as to not slide in or outY thereof when theinstrument is inverted, an application of pressure being `necessary to'.

initiate movement of the obturator.

The diameter of the lumen 4 is considerably larger than the'diameter ofthe obturator lower body portion 16, thereby, as indi-` cated in Figures?) and 7, allowing sufficient clearance to accommodate the removal mem-v ber or thread 20 of the seed 19. The thread 20of the seed 19 may be any length, without being entangled or'caught in the lumen 4 of the-instrument, there being no possibility of the 'Lipper thick obturatorvportion 17 catching the thread 20, the former not being long enough to reach past the wall 10 of the loadingslot7. j Y

In using the instrument, the obturator 2 is entirely withdrawn from the lumen 4 of the tube 3, as shown in Figure 4. The seed 19, having a removal member 20,- is placed in the loading slot 7 by means of a forcep 21, the thread end 2O of the seed 19 being held away from the tip of the needle-that is, towards the operator. The thread 2O is positioned in the recess 14 and hangs freely from the instrument. The obturator. 2 isthen introduced into the lumen 4, the obturator lowerbody portion 16 first entering the lumen.V

As it comes in contact with the seed 19, the latter is pushed along the lumen tube 3 until the upper enlarged body member 17 of the obturator enters the lumen 4 of the implanting instrument. At this point, a certain amount of resistance is offered to the penetra tion of the enlarged upper member 17 of the obturator, and the instrument is ready for {use as indicated in Figure 6.

As shown, the seed 19 is positioned near the end of the seed-receiving tube 3, and the operator can hold the instrument either horizontally or in an inverted vertical position, and the obturator 2 will not fall out of the implanting instrument. The relationship between the inside diameter of the lumen 3 and the outside diameter of the obturator body portion 17 is such as to provide a tight frietional contact. The tissue is thereafter punctured and the obturator 2 pushed home, thereby depositing the seed in the tissue. The instrument may be then withdrawn and since there is sufficient clearance between the lower body portion 16 of the obturator 2 and the wall of the tube 3 to accommodate the thread 20 of the seed 19, the latter will not be discharged from the tissue but rwill remain im planted, the thread protruding from the portal of entry.

Without limiting the invention to any particular size of the needle tube and the obturator, the following are given as satisfactory dimensions:

The radon seeds are usually 1.1 mm. in outside diameter, and the inside diameter of the non-corrosive tube 3 is approximately 1.2 mm. The outside diameter of the upper body portion 17 of the obturator is preferably 1.15 mm. and the diameter of the lower body portion 76 is preferably .75 mm.

rThe advantages offered by the instrument herein set forth `are as follows:

1. The seed is not loaded lafter the tissue is punctured, but prior thereto, so that the operator can disregard the instrument and directhis attention on the actual implanta tion of the removable seed;

2. The time of implantation is reduced to a minimum, so that the implantation of the seed becomes less hazardous.V

3.- Just prior to the time of-im'plantation, it is only necessary tov use a veryshort motion to push the seeds a few millimeters to actually deposit the seed into the tissue, thereby eliminating the possibility of entangling the thread. This is brought .about bythe rela tively small -linear dimension'of the enlarged obturator body portion. p i

4. The non-corrosive needle or seed-receiving member extending through the entire length of the instrument insures the maintenance of the alignment of theinstrument and the absence of solder in the lumen of theim planter prevents the seeds from becoming; jammed during the operation.

, Manufacturers of instruments have in the past pointed out that the soldering of the needle point tothe remainder of the barrel of the instrument was always a delicate operation inasmuch as if too much solder was usedthere wasy always the possibility of the solder becoming caughtupon the inside of the tube, thereby reducing the diameterthereof and making the instrument inoperative. This isofcourse avoided by the use of a tube of non-corrosive metal extending the entire n length of the instrument.

The obturator is provided with a head 18.V The head may, as shown in the drawings, be of the same size as the head of the instrument proper, but preferably should be somewhat y larger in order to facilitatefthe withdrawal of the obturator from the instrument.

What I claim is:

1. An instrument for the implantation in tissue of radon seeds provided with a removal or withdrawal member comprisinga tubular receiving member provided at one of its ends with a needle pointsand having intermediate its ends a lateral seed opening leading into said tubular member, a recess in the end wall of saidlateral seed opening adapted to hold and guide` the removal member of the seed to prevent the obturator from sliding along the'tubular member on inversion of the instrument. f

2. An instrument for the implantation in tissue of radon seeds provided with a removal or withdrawal member comprising a noncorrosive tubular receiving member extending throughout the length of the instrument and made of a single material thereby eliminating disturbances Vin alignment, said tubular memb'erbeing provided with a needle point and having intermediate its ends a lateral seed opening leading into saidY tubular member7 a recess in the end Wall of said lateral seed opening adapted to hold and guide the removal member of the seed during the loading step, and an obturator movable through the passage of the tubular member for dischargf ing seeds therefrom, said obturator. having a lower body portion Vof a diameter substantially smaller than the internal diameter of the bore of the tubular receiving member to allo7 sufficient room for the removal member of the seed to slide along the bore, and an enlarged upper bodyportion extending from the upper end Wall. of the lateral seed opening to the proXirnalend of the tubular bore, and tightly fitting in the bore to provide jsuflicient frictional resistanceto prevent the obturator from sliding along the tubular member on inversion of the instrument.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliX my signature.

Y JOSEPH .MUIR 

